I did my very best to avoid River at all costs. He had tried texting and calling me for several days, but I was spending the autumn break with my boyfriend, and we were not doing anything besides walking Dave, going to small farmer's markets and antique markets around the county. We were basically acting like an old married couple, and I absolutely loved it. I needed it. I needed to calm the fuck down.

"Look at this," Abel said and held onto a very big plate. It had fish painted on it. He had never looked this excited about anything before.

"How much is it?" I asked half-heartedly.

"Well, it's actually a steal," he said and showed me the price-tag.

"It'd be a crime if we didn't get that for sure," I chuckled and Abel looked so stoked, the black in his eyes almost covering the white. I gently grabbed his aviators from the collar of his shirt and put them on him. "Can't explain your happy-eyes to the humans with you having an eye condition, babe."

He pushed the glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Happy-eyes?" he asked, trying to force himself to not smile, otherwise he'd show his fangs too.

"When the black covers the white and you look like a cartoon character. You do it when you're really happy."

"Oh, that's when I open up to the most colour receptors. So, I can see it all."

"So cute," I murmured and pulled him down so I could place a kiss on his cheek. He kissed me back quickly before going to the seller to buy the huge fishplate.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as did the hairs on my arms. I recognised the smell immediately. I didn't react at first. I kept browsing the inventory of one merchant, hoping River would just leave me the fuck alone.

He stopped next to me, looking at the stuff with me. Loads of antique figurines depicting different animals. One looked like Dave and I picked it up. I wanted it.

"Looks like your dog," River said.

"I know," I replied coolly.

"Listen... I'm..." He stopped and glanced at me. I could feel those icy eyes on me. I didn't meet his gaze. I could not be fucked with some half-baked excuse, when I was in the middle of antiquing.

"Just say what you wanna say and then leave. I can't promise what Abel's gonna do if he sees you."

"Right I... Where I come from, vampires feeding on you wasn't... A good thing, alright? I thought he was doing something sinister."

"Really?" I asked and finally turned towards him, still holding on to the collie figurine. "You thought I'd be with someone who's sinister? That I'd let anyone do anything to me, I didn't want them to do? That Abel's that kind of person who'd force something like that on anyone?"

"I uh..."

"You don't know shit about my relationship with my boyfriend, and if you don't keep your snout out of my business, I'm not gonna be such a Happy Wolf, alright?" I turned back around and went to the merchant, paying for the figurine. She wrapped it up in old newspapers.

"I made an assumption and that was wrong. I'm sorry. I didn't do it to be malicious though. If that counts for anything."

"I don't know. I don't care. I'm antiquing. I'm gonna buy little trinkets for the home I built with the man you thought was sinister. So, actually River, right now you can go fuck yourself." I took the now wrapped up figurine from the merchant and sent her an apologetic smile as I started towards Abel. He was by another table, watching us. I hoped I would never be on the receiving end of that cold stare of his. I could see it, even through the aviators. I grabbed his hand and turned him away from the other wolf and towards more antique tables. The weather was so nice and crisp. Like a perfect autumn day where it wasn't too cold, but you could still feel it in the wind, biting at your cheeks.

"Will he ever get a hint, or do I need to spell it out for him?" Abel asked as we stopped by a merchant selling antique lamps. Abel really wanted one of those stained-glass ones.

"I think he got it this time," I said and picked up a tiny lamp. It'd look ridiculously cute in our bathroom.

"You think? You want me to make that 'think' into a 'know'?"

"I can handle him, Abel. You don't have to worry. He'll leave you alone."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he said and took the lamp from me, inspecting it closer. "You've put so much effort into building this safe haven for the wolves. I really hope he's not about to wreck it because he has some backwards idea of what we're doing."

"I don't think it's that serious, to be honest. I've already talked to Meera and Samuel about what happened. They know I'm not trying to hide anything. They had some questions but ultimately, I don't think anyone cares about you feeding on me occasionally. And like... Tasha also said it's really none of anyone's business. She's right. I don't care what River thinks. I don't care what anyone thinks. They don't know what we have, and they never will either." I grabbed his hands and brought them up to my mouth. "I want that tiny lamp for the bathroom."

Abel smiled, really struggling to not show fangs. He seemed to struggle with that more and more these days. I wanted him to struggle constantly. I wanted him to only smile, to only feel loved and protected and supported. Always.

Lately, it seemed like Abel couldn't keep his hands off me. I could be doing laundry and he'd be there, pulling my clothes off. I'd wake up early in the morning to him kissing me, getting me ready to make love. I had no idea where he got the energy.

But now it was my turn.

He was laying on the sofa, watching telly when I more or less jumped on top of him. He laughed and took my face in his hands, kissing me. I didn't wanna just cuddle and kiss. I wiggled my hips down between his legs and lifted up, grabbing the hem of his shirt.

"Well, hello there," Abel said with a satisfied smile and pushed up from the sofa so I could get his shirt off.

I bent down and kissed his chest, as I fumbled with his dumb jeans. Why even wear jeans when you're just home? Home is for sweatpants. He didn't even help me, just raised his arms above his head, letting them lie there on the armrest. Which was fine by me.

I did all the work and Abel was just lying there, looking hot, seemingly enjoying everything I was doing so far.

I came back up to his face, kissing him softly. "You ready?" I murmured against his lips, in between deep kisses.

"Uh huh," he breathed, hopefully unable to form words at this point. When he got all tongue-tied, it meant I was doing everything right. I pulled down on my sweats and grabbed his thighs, getting him and myself in the right position. I pushed my hips forward and Abel whimpered, finally taking his arms down from the armrest, curling them around me and digging his fingers into my shirt.

"Please," he panted.

"Please what?" I asked, kissing his throat.

"I wanna feel your skin."

Alright, I wasn't stupid. I slid my shirt off for him and he immediately ran the palm of his hands over my back. I couldn't suppress a groan and started moving again. Abel made those fantastically cute high-pitched noises, following the rhythm of my body. It didn't take long before I was completely drenched in sweat, panting, and struggling to stay present and not entirely lose myself in him. I did wanna stay present so I could focus on him. His pleasure.

I ran my hand over his chest, feeling him up. He was doing the same, moaning and letting his hands explore my body. It was like his touch made my skin even more sensitive the more he touched me.

And it was getting really, really hard to focus on anything but his touch. His body. His voice. And I lost myself entirely. I could only focus on how good he felt. How amazing his body was.

He grabbed my hips then and made me go faster. The way he looked up at me... His mouth was slightly open, lips swollen from all the kisses, his eyes slightly hooded. He moaned up at me, beckoning me to keep going. I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep going.

"I'm close," I panted, at least wanting to give him a warning.

"Me too," he groaned back and dug his fingers into my hips. I slammed into him, making him make even louder sounds.

I came to an explosive finish right after Abel had gotten his. The way his whole body clenched around mine undid me in every way that mattered. I fell limp on top of him and he chuckled, panting still.

"Where did that come from?" he asked through heavy breaths and deep sighs.

"You've been building me up to this all week. Don't even try and deny it." I laughed and placed soft kisses on his chest.

"What else is there to do when there's no school?" His voice was softer than the velvet pillow, his pretty head was resting on.

"I don't know. More antiquing?" I grinned up at him.

He laughed and shook his head. "Nah, vacations are for making an excessive amount of love." He grabbed me and turned on his side, getting me to move up so we both had our heads on the pillow. "It's all about just doing nothing but it feels like you're doing everything."

My brows flew up. "Where did the poetry come from?"

"I don't know. You. Maybe your artsiness is rubbing off on me." He shrugged and then pressed his lips against mine.

I grabbed the blanket from the backrest of the sofa and pulled it over us. I was a little cold. I knew Abel wasn't considering his high body temperature and all, but it was nice to both be under the blanket. Especially considering we were butt-naked the both of us. And I didn't like being that exposed.

I had come a long way with the whole thing... The scars thing. I didn't shy away from them as much anymore. It wasn't like I was walking around topless, and I probably wouldn't ever. But laying under a blanket with my boyfriend didn't feel as exposing as it had in the past. I still felt certain feelings about it all, but it had become easier to at least show myself to Abel. Let him feel my battered skin.

Abel smiled down at me, his fingers running over my back. I loved it when he ran the tips of his fingers over my skin. He was so good at being gentle. It always reminded me of how I hadn't had that kind of gentleness before, how much I had craved it. I had been so hard and tough for such a long time, but with Abel I could be soft. I didn't have to be smart or clever, tough, or hardcore. I could just be. I could happily exist just here on this sofa and let him run his fingers over my skin.

"I love you," I whispered against his chest.

"I love you too," he murmured into my hair.